Method of expanding grazing range and an animal feed supplement for use therein

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for improving grazing distribution and an animal feed supplement for use therein. The method comprises the steps of identifying a plurality of underutilized rangeland areas and providing an animal feed supplement in a first underutilized rangeland area. The animal feed supplement attracts the livestock to the first underutilized rangeland area and encourages the livestock to graze once there.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

1. The present invention relates generally to a method of expandinggrazing range. More particularly, the present invention relates to amethod of using an animal feed supplement to encourage livestock tograze in underutilized rangeland areas.

BACKGROUND

2. Cattle naturally avoid areas that are located far from water or thatrequire them to climb steep slopes. This tendency causes the cattle toovergraze lowland riparian areas while ignoring abundant or high qualityforage in other areas. This “localized overgrazing” causes severalsignificant problems. First, it reduces the rancher's profit because itwastes forage. Second, the cattle trample the vegetation in resultinghigh-traffic areas near water sources. This increases pollution, causeserosion, and reduces stream bank stability. These effects can eventuallyresult in watershed degradation and poor water quality. Finally,localized overgrazing prevents nutrients returned to the soil throughmanure from being spread to their best effect.

3. Increasing the natural grazing range of cattle can reduce theseproblems. One advantage of a large grazing range is that cattle consumeforage in areas that would otherwise go unused. This allows existingacreage to support more head and can improve individual animalperformance (e.g., increased body condition or higher weight gains). Theresulting decrease in forage pressure on the lowland riparian areas alsoallows the local vegetation to grow more vigorously. This means thatranchers can maintain or even increase vegetative cover around lakes andstreams. Finally, a large grazing range spreads manure over moreacreage.

4. The prior art has suggested several methods to solve this localizedovergrazing problem. These methods include fencing, herding,constructing water developments, and strategically placing salt blocks.However, all of these methods have significant drawbacks. Fencing, forexample, requires that the rancher build a physical barrier to force thecattle into the underutilized areas. This requires a large capitaloutlay, because the rancher must build a barrier capable of holding thecattle. Fences also have significant maintenance costs, are impracticalin rugged areas, and may be illegal on public land.

5. Water developments, like fences, are expensive to build and areimpractical in rugged areas. In addition, water developments havelimited effectiveness because they cannot be moved easily. This drawbackoften creates a new area of localized overgrazing. Finally, waterdevelopments frequently require an external power source to maintain thefluid level and may not be permitted in environmentally sensitive areas.

6. Herding is an expensive, short term method of extending grazingrange. Herding requires that a rancher push the cattle into theunderutilized rangeland areas. This process is labor intensive becausethe rancher must travel to the cattle's location and remain with themuntil they reach the desired areas. The entire process must befrequently repeated because the cattle need to return to the riparianareas for water.

7. The strategic placement of salt blocks has also been suggested as atool to improve grazing distribution. However, research has shown thatsalt does not effectively attract cattle to the underutilized rangelandareas or encourage them to consume the forage around the salt block.

8. For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a new method ofextending grazing distribution so that the livestock will better utilizethe existing rangeland.

SUMMARY

9. The present invention is directed at a method of improving grazingdistribution by encouraging livestock to feed in underutilized rangelandareas. The method comprises the steps of identifying a plurality ofunderutilized rangeland areas and providing an animal feed supplement inat least one underutilized rangeland area. Livestock are attracted tothe underutilized rangeland area by the animal feed supplement.

10. The animal feed supplement of the preferred embodiment is made froma highly palatable, self-limiting, molasses-based material. Thiscombination of features attracts the livestock to the underutilized areaand causes them to consume the local forage. The supplement block of thepreferred embodiment is also portable and weatherproof. This allows therancher to place the supplement in a first underutilized rangeland area,leave it unattended until the livestock utilize the local forage, andthen move the supplement to a new underutilized area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

11. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

12.FIG. 1 is a topographic map showing the natural grazing distributionof livestock.

13.FIG. 2 is a topographic map showing the grazing distribution aftersupplementation.

14.FIG. 3 is an sectional view of a supplement container.

15.FIG. 4 is a pictorial view of a supplement container attached to ananimal silhouette.

DESCRIPTION

16.FIG. 1 is a topographic map that shows an area of rangeland having astream 10 and steep hills 12 and 14. The location and grade of the hills12 and 14 are indicated by contour lines 16. FIG. 1 also shows thelocation of livestock 18 within their natural grazing area 20.

17. An underutilized rangeland area 22 is a place where a rancher wantshis or her livestock 18 to spend more time or to consume more of thelocal forage. Because livestock 18 have a natural tendency to grazelowland riparian forage, underutilized rangeland 22 will typically belocated in areas 22 a that are significant distance from water or inareas 22 b that require that the livestock cross steeply sloped terrain.Underutilized rangeland areas 22 will also tend to contain relativelyabundant and/or high quality forage.

18. A rancher can identify underutilized areas 22 by periodicallyvisiting the available grazing land and looking for locations havingthick vegetative cover and high plant vigor. Other embodiments of thisinvention use more advanced detection methods to identify theunderutilized areas 22. These methods include testing the forage todetermine its nutrient value, aerial photography, satellite imagery, andremote sensors.

19.FIG. 2 is a topographic map of the same rangeland area shown inFIG. 1. A rancher will attract the livestock 18 from their naturalgrazing areas 20 to the underutilized rangeland areas 22 a and 22 busing an animal feed supplement 26 of the type described herein. Thisresults in an improved grazing distribution 27.

20. This invention is more effective when the supplement 26 is onlyprovided in a few of the underutilized areas and when these locationsare periodically rotated. This aspect of the invention prevents thelivestock 18 from overgrazing the forage around the more accessiblelocations and ignoring the forage around the less accessible locations.This aspect of the invention also lowers the initial capital costbecause the rancher does not need to stock as many supplement locations.This invention is also more effective when the supplement 26 is providedin an area from which the livestock 18 can periodically travel to asource of water.

21. If the rancher chooses to provide supplement 26 in severallocations, the rancher should try to place them in equivalent positions.Equivalence occurs in areas where the livestock 18 use the supplement 26at an approximately equal rate. Equivalent positions can be identifiedby monitoring the amount of supplement 26 consumed at a particularlocation and moving its position accordingly.

22. The animal feed supplement 26 used in this invention should be madefrom a highly palatable, consumption limited material. Palatabilityrefers to the extent that the livestock 18 desire the product and isrelated to the product's taste and nutrition content. Highly palatablesupplements 26 are preferred, because they encourage livestock 18 totravel greater distances to consume the product. Consumption limitsrefer to the inability of livestock 18 to satisfy their craving for theproduct in one feeding session. Consumption limits can be imposed bychoosing a supplement material that cannot be consumed rapidly (i.e., a“self-limiting supplement”) or by using a mechanical apparatus to limitthe supplement's availability. Consumption limited supplements 26 aredesirable, because they encourage the livestock 18 to spend more timearound the supplement source. The combination of highly palatability andlimited consumption is particularly desirable for the presentapplication, because it causes the livestock 18 to travel significantdistances to the supplement 26, to remain in the underutilized area 22,and to consume the local forage between their repeated limitedconsumption of the supplement 26. A suitable supplement could be amolasses product that is dehydrated to reduce the moisture content andfortified with vitamins, minerals, and other protein sources. Othersuitable supplements include, but are not limited to: a liquidsupplement in a consumption limiting container, a chemical block, or apressed block.

23. It is also desirable that the supplement 26 contain those specificproteins, fat, vitamins, macro minerals, and trace minerals that thelivestock require for proper nutrition. Studies have shown that theprotein content of the forage limits the animal's weight gain becauselow protein levels reduce consumption and suppress microbialfermentation in the animal's digestive system. Nutrition supplementshave also been shown to improve the overall body condition and thereproductive performance of the livestock 18.

24. The preferred embodiment of this invention is based on a solid feedsupplement 26 sold under the trade name CRYSTALYX® BGF-30 by HubbardFeeds, Inc., P.O. Box 8500, 424 North Riverfront Drive, Mankato, Minn.56001. CRYSTALYX® BGF-30 is a molasses-based supplement blockmanufactured to be fed to cattle free choice. It contains: molassesproducts, concentrated separator by-product, animal protein products,plant protein products, animal fat (preserved with ethoxyquin),processed grain by-products, urea, monocalcium phosphate, dicalciumphosphate, calcium carbonate, sulfur, magnesium oxide, manganesesulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide,calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite, vitamin A acetate,D-activated animal sterol (source of vitamin D₃), and vitamin Esupplement. These ingredients are dehydrated to reduce the moisturecontent and result in the following nutrient analysis: CRYSTALYX ®BGF-30 NUTRIENT ANALYSIS: Crude Protein, min 30.0% (Including not morethan 12.0% equivalent crude protein as non-protein nitrogen.) Crude Fat,min 4.0% Crude Fiber, max 2.5% Calcium (Ca), min 2.0% Calcium (Ca), max2.5% Phosphorus (P), min 2.0% Potassium (K), min 2.5% Magnesium (Mg),min 0.5% Cobalt (Co), min 3.3 ppm Copper (Cu), min 330 ppm Iodine (I),min 17 ppm Manganese (Mn), min 1,330 ppm Selenium (Se), min 4.4 ppm Zinc(Zn), min 1,000 ppm Vitamin A, min 80,000 IU/lb Vitamin D, min 8,000IU/lb Vitamin E, min 30 lU/lb Salt (NaCl) none added

25. CRYSTALYX® BGF-30 has a number of beneficial properties. Forexample, CRYSTALYX® BGF-30 is weatherproof so that a rancher can leavethis supplement block in the underutilized rangeland areas 22 withoutlosses to wind or rain. Furthermore, the CRYSTALYX® BGF-30 block onlyhas 2% to 6% moisture content. This is desirable because it reduces thetransportation cost necessary to use the invention in remote and ruggedareas. Finally, CRYSTALYX® BGF-30 improves the livestock's digestion byproviding a good growth medium in the animal's rumen for the bacteriathat break down vegetable material.

26. Other animal feed supplement formulas are within the scope of thisinvention, several of which are well known in the art. These supplementsgenerally contain the following nutritional content: NUTRIENT ANALYSISMINIMUM MAXIMUM Crude Protein 4.0% 65.0% Crude Fat 2.0% 12.0% CrudeFiber 0.5% 4.0% Calcium (Ca) 0.4% 10.0% Phosphorus (P) 0% 10.0% Salt(NaCl) 0% 10.0% Potassium (K) 0.5% 6.0% Magnesium (Mg) 0.15% 6.0% Cobalt(Co) 1.0 ppm 15 ppm Copper (Cu) 15 ppm 1,000 ppm Iodine (I) 2.0 ppm 100ppm Manganese (Mn) 25 ppm 3,000 ppm Selenium (Se) 0 ppm 30 ppm Zinc (Zn)25 ppm 3,400 ppm Vitamin A 0 IU/lb 200,000 IU/lb Vitamin D 0 IU/lb40,000 IU/lb Vitamin E 0 IU/lb 1,000 IU/lb Non-protein Nitrogen 0% 52%

27. The actual nutrient content depends on whether the supplement isdesigned to have high protein, low protein, or trace mineralfortification.

28. The animal feed supplement 26 used in this invention should beprovided in a container 28 such as that shown in FIG. 3. This container28 is generally configured into a barrel shape having an open top 30, aside wall 32, a bottom 34, a protruding bottom lip 36, and a top edge38. The open top 30 should be large enough to allow easy access to thesupplement 26 and the bottom 34 should be wide enough to preventlivestock from tipping the container 28. The top edge 38 is preferablyformed into a shape that prevents livestock from injuring themselveswhen consuming the supplement 26.

29. The weight of the container 28 and of the supplement 26 drives theprotruding lip 36 into the ground 40. This feature makes the container28 particularly desirable for winter use on steeply sloped hillsidesbecause it deters sliding motion caused by livestock or by gravity insnow, ice or other slippery conditions. Making the supplement 26essentially immovable by livestock even when the container 28 is almostempty helps insure that the livestock-attracting focus remains in thesame location in the underutilized rangeland. However, the size andweight should be consistent with the need to deliver the filledcontainers 28 to somewhat remote terrain.

30. The preferred embodiment uses a steel half-barrel that is largeenough to contain about 250 pounds of supplement. One advantage of thisembodiment is that the steel construction prevents livestock 18 frombiting or trampling the supplement 26. This advantage enhances theself-limiting feature of the preferred supplement formula. Anotheradvantage of the preferred embodiment is its ability to be recycled.Despite these advantages, however, other embodiments are possible. Forexample, the container 28 could be made from plastic, cardboard, oraluminum instead of steel and the rounded top edge 38 could be replacedby a plastic protector. Other container sizes, shapes, and materialsconsistent with the above objectives are also within the scope of thisinvention.

31. The effectiveness of this invention increases if the livestock 18develop an association between the supplement 26 and an identifierassociated with the supplement. Although a wide variety of features canfunction as an identifier, an effective identifier should be capable ofsignaling the location of the supplement 26 to the livestock 18 over asignificant distance. This association need only be trained into aportion of the herd. The rest of the animals will naturally develop theassociation, because livestock 18 are naturally drawn towards otherlivestock 18. That is, the existence of a crowd of livestock 18 willdraw additional livestock to that location.

32. One possible identifier is the color of the supplement container 28.Although this color can be any shade that livestock can perceive, it isdesirable that the color contrast with the container's surroundingsthroughout the year. Black containers appear to be easily perceived bothin winter snow and in rangeland having light brown color tones. The darkcolors, like black, are also desirable because they absorb solar energy.This causes the container to melt into any underlying snow or ice 42 andhelps the container 28 remain where the rancher placed it.

33. Another possible identifier is the odor of the supplement 26.Although this odor can be any scent that livestock can perceive, it isdesirable that the odor be relatively unusual. This will prevent thelivestock 18 from confusing the identifier odor with naturally occurringscents. One embodiment of this invention uses onion by-products toproduce an onion odor identifier.

34. A third possible identifier is a sound. Like color or odoridentifiers, sonic identifiers can be anything perceivable by livestock18. However, it is desirable that the identifying noise be easilydistinguishable from naturally occurring sounds. In one embodiment ofthis invention a flexible pole 46 is attached to the container 28 bysupports 48 and 50. A bell 52 is attached to the flexible pole 46opposite the supports 48 and 50. Livestock 18 hit the pole 46 whilefeeding on the supplement 26 and cause the bell 52 to ring. This soundalerts other livestock to the supplement's location and to the presenceof other animals. These two factors combine to draw the other livestock18 to the underutilized area 22. Other embodiments of this inventionreplace the bell 52 with a wind-chime. The wind-chime alerts livestockto the supplement's location whenever the wind blows.

35. It will be easier to establish the initial connection between thelivestock 18 and the supplement 26 if the identifier is naturallyattractive to the animals. That is, a naturally attractive container(color or configuration) or sound may appeal to the curiosity of ananimal 20 that has not previously experienced the supplement 26 and drawits presence for a taste. Similarly, a naturally attractive odor maylure the animal 20 to the supplement 26 and cause it to try the product.These initial tastes will establish the desirability of the product. Theonion odor used in one embodiment of this invention is one suchnaturally attractive identifier.

36. The natural instinct of livestock to congregate can also be used toenhance the effectiveness of this invention. As shown in FIG. 4, a decoy54 can be attached (preferably, removably attached) to the container 28.The decoy 54 will initially attract livestock 18 to the supplementlocation. This, in turn, will attract additional animals to theunderutilized area 22.

37. The previously described embodiments of the present invention havemany advantages over the prior art, including low initial capitalrequirements, low maintenance costs, low labor costs, high portability,and high effectiveness. In particular, the animal feed supplement blocks26 used in the preferred embodiment have been shown to be more effectivein extending grazing range than salt blocks. A study was conducted bythe Montana State University to determine whether livestock grazingdistribution could be improved by strategically placing low moisture,molasses based supplement blocks 26. The research team divided a studyarea into pastures having easy, moderate, difficult, and inaccessibleterrain. The study further divided the pastures having moderate anddifficult terrain into control and supplement sites. The research teamprovided a CRYSTALYX® BGF-30 block in the supplement sites. The teamalso provided a salt block in half of the sites in both control andsupplement groups. Every seven to ten days, the research team moved thesupplement and the salt blocks to new locations.

38. The study compared the livestock's use of the control and supplementsites by measuring forage utilization and fecal pat abundance beforesupplementation and after removal. The researchers observed morelivestock in areas with the supplement (32±8%) than in control areas(3±2%). They also measured an increase in the number of fecal pats(3.3±7 pats/100 m² vs. 0.5±0.5 pats/100 m²) and in forage utilization(17±2% vs. −1±1%) in areas containing supplement. However, the study didnot find significant differences between the sites containing a saltblock and those that did not contain salt. These results indicate thatCRYSTALYX® BGF-30 was more effective in extending grazing range thanwere the salt blocks. For more information about this study, see Bailey& Welling, J. Anim. Sci., Vol. 76, Suppl. 1, p. 191 (1998), which ishereby incorporated by reference.

39. Animal feed supplement blocks 26 have other important advantagesover salt blocks. The blocks 26 used by the preferred embodiment improvedigestion by helping livestock 18 break down cellulose. This helps thelivestock better utilize the grass it eats. The blocks 26 used by thepreferred embodiment also help increase forage intake by providingprotein. This leads to higher livestock body weight and more money forthe rancher. Finally, animal feed supplement blocks can provide avariety of important vitamins and minerals not found in a salt block.

40. Although the present invention has been described in considerabledetail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof,variations are possible. For example, this invention could be optimizedfor use with other types of domesticated animals, such as horses, sheep,deer, and elk, by switching the animal feed supplement 26 to a formulathat appeals to that particular species. Appropriate supplements, suchas CRYSTALYX® STABLE-LYX® for horses and CRYSTALYX® SHEEP-LYX for sheep,are well known in the art. The animal feed supplement described in thisinvention could also include compounds designed to increase livestockperformance, such as ingestable hormones, antibacterial drugs, orstimulants. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claimsshould not be limited to the description of the preferred versionscontained herein.

I claim:
 1. A method of improving grazing distribution by encouraginglivestock to feed in underutilized rangeland areas, the methodcomprising: identifying a plurality of underutilized rangeland areas;providing an animal feed supplement in a first underutilized rangelandarea; and wherein livestock are attracted to the first underutilizedrangeland area by the animal feed supplement.
 2. The method of claim 1 ,further comprising: moving the animal feed supplement from the firstunderutilized rangeland area to a second underutilized rangeland area.3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: providing a salt blocknear the animal feed supplement.
 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein thefirst underutilized rangeland area contains non-riparian land.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 , wherein the first underutilized rangeland area isbordered by steeply sloped terrain.
 6. The method of claim 1 , whereinthe first underutilized rangeland area contains abundant or high qualityforage.
 7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplement isassociated with an identifier perceivably by livestock.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplement is comprised of amolasses-based product with high-protein fortification.
 9. The method ofclaim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplement is weatherproof.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplement is consumptionlimited.
 11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplementis fortified with proteins, fat, vitamins, and minerals.
 12. The methodof claim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplement causes the livestock toremain in the first underutilized rangeland area and to consume nearbyforage.
 13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplementstimulates the livestock's consumption of forage.
 14. The method ofclaim 1 , wherein the animal feed supplement is selected from the groupconsisting of a chemical block, a pressed block, a liquid, a molassesblock having low protein fortification, and a molasses block havingtrace mineral fortification.
 15. The method of claim 1 , wherein theanimal feed supplement has a low moisture content.
 16. The method ofclaim 1 , wherein the step of identifying a plurality of underutilizedrangeland areas comprises: inspecting the available rangeland to locateareas containing abundant forage or high quality forage.
 17. The methodof claim 1 , wherein the livestock are selected from the groupconsisting of cattle, sheep, horses, deer, and elk.
 18. The method ofclaim 1 , wherein the step of providing a animal feed supplementcomprises: providing the animal feed supplement in a container thatmakes the supplement and the container essentially immovable bylivestock.
 19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: training thelivestock to consume the animal feed supplement.
 20. The method of claim1 , wherein the animal feed supplement is portable.
 21. An animal feedsupplement used to improve grazing distribution, comprising: a highlypalatable material formed into a consumption limited mass; an identifierassociated with the highly palatable material that is recognizable bylivestock; and wherein the animal feed supplement attracts livestock toat least one underutilized rangeland area.
 22. The animal feedsupplement of claim 21 , wherein the identifier is chosen from the groupconsisting of an odor, a color, a sound, a shape designed to resemble ananimal, a shape of the highly palatable material, and a shape of acontainer for the highly palatable material.
 23. The animal feedsupplement of claim 21 , wherein the highly palatable material iscomprised of proteins, fat, vitamins, and minerals.
 24. The animal feedsupplement of claim 21 , wherein the highly palatable material is formedinto a low moisture block.
 25. The animal feed supplement of claim 21 ,wherein the highly palatable material is in a container that isessentially immovable by livestock.
 26. The animal feed supplement ofclaim 25 , wherein the container is a half-barrel having a colorcontrasting with its rangeland environment.
 27. The animal feedsupplement of claim 21 , wherein the highly palatable material is chosenfrom the group consisting of a chemical block, a pressed block, afortified molasses block, and a liquid.
 28. An animal feed supplementused to improve grazing distribution, comprising: a container having aprotruding lip; a highly palatable material inside the container thatattracts livestock to at least one underutilized rangeland area; andwherein the protruding lip engages a surface and prevents the containerfrom moving relative to the surface.